Jamaica sprint stars facing dope claims

JAMAICA’S all-conquering sprinters were facing a potential doping scandal last night amid claims that traces of a banned substance were found in samples taken at the 2008 Olympic Games.

ARD, the German broadcaster behind the corruption allegations at the governing body of world athletics, reported last night that traces of clenbuterol, the drug for which Tour de France champion Alberto Contador was banned, were found in samples given by members of a Jamaican sprint team that won 11 medals in Beijing.

The ARD report said: ‘In 2016, during the re-analysis for banned substances, clenbuterol was detected in several urine samples from the 2008 Jamaican Olympics team, including male sprinters. Several sources have verified that the IOC was aware of the findings but declined to pursue them and has stopped all of the investigations.’

The station quote WADA director general Olivier Niggli saying: ‘I am aware of the fact that [in some] cases from Jamaica, some very low levels of clenbuterol were found.’

The IOC told the broadcaster that the findings were not disclosed because the traces were so small they could have been caused by contaminated meat.